Ji Lanruo was currently furious.
She understood Lin Yue’er. Despite the woman’s high reputation, Ji Lanruo knew that Lin Yue’er did not actually value human life as much as people imagined.
She practiced medicine merely as a livelihood and out of a habit developed over many years.
How could she possibly find joy in saving others?
“Medical Saint… Medical Immortal… That’s right, how could there be no connection between the two of you?”
The reason the Medical Saint was called a saint was not because of his strength, but because he spent his entire life healing the sick and teaching others everything he knew, all while living a simple life until he was murdered by villains.
The Medical Saint’s sphere of activity had been in the Northern Territory.
Thanks to his grace, many people there kept ancestral tablets and portraits of him in their homes.
If she had not gone to the Northern Territory years ago to recover from an illness and happened to see the portraits and wood carvings enshrined in the local shrines during a festival, she would never have known about the relationship between her Master and the Medical Saint.
She would never have gathered information to trace back through history and uncover her Master’s past.
Ji Lanruo paced back and forth in her room, unable to sit or lie down in peace.
What angered her even more was that a woman like Lin Yue’er had actually been taken out by someone else upon arriving in Qingquan City.
This proved that someone in Qingquan City had already beaten them to the punch!
‘No wonder he hasn’t appeared in over ten years. No wonder that Xuanbing wanted to kill me the moment it saw me.’
The Xuanbing had been harassing the Xishan Sect for years.
She had always believed the mastermind behind it was the culprit who caused her Master’s early death.
She never expected it to be a love rival!
“Luo Yao? The Luo family of Qingzhou!” Ji Lanruo gritted her teeth.
In the sky, lightning flashed and thunder roared.
Qingzhou was a province in the southern part of the Northern Territory.
Over 800 years ago, the Luo family had been prominent for a time as a famous local family of Artifact Refiners.
Her Master had indeed been a member of the Luo family once.
The Luo family of Qingzhou had long since vanished.
She had assumed that every member of the Luo family was dead, but she never expected a Luo Yao to suddenly emerge.
There was clearly no such person in the Luo family’s genealogy…
“That lowly wench! How dare she try to rise above her station!”
A vein popped on Ji Lanruo’s forehead.
She had originally envisioned a formal wedding with a proper proposal, but now everything had been thrown into chaos.
Her Master was with another woman; just the thought of them walking side by side made Ji Lanruo feel a tearing pain in her heart.
Her Master might be physically fine, but his chastity was in grave danger!
Luo Yao clearly did not care for social norms or laws; she wanted to be a pair of free-spirited lovebirds with her Master and keep everything about him for herself.
Her Master, who had not yet recovered his strength, must be suffering terrible humiliation…
She could not endure it.
She could not endure it at all.
She could no longer focus on formal procedures and wait passively!
‘To control a mid-stage Tribulation Transcendence Xuanbing, she must be at least at the late stage of Tribulation Transcendence. In the worst-case scenario, she is at the Great Circle of that stage.’
Ji Lanruo’s eyes flickered.
She was currently only at the late stage of Tribulation Transcendence.
If Luo Yao was at the Great Circle, Ji Lanruo’s chances of winning were low.
The best method would be to lead the entire sect to mob her.
But what reason could she use to mobilize the Xishan Sect?
Even if the entire sect set out and defeated Luo Yao, what would stop Luo Yao from fleeing? And what reason could she give to other powers to explain the Xishan Sect’s movements?
Requesting passage through other territories required a price.
If handled poorly, others might think the Xishan Sect was coming to wipe them out, which would turn into a diplomatic conflict.
After thinking it over, Ji Lanruo felt she could only go alone.
Her two junior sisters were at the Great Circle of the Soul Transformation Stage — essentially half-step Tribulation Transcendence — and needed to guard the sect.
Hire mercenaries?
That was impossible.
Those in the Tribulation Transcendence Stage were not common; there were only a handful in the entire continent.
Without benefits significant enough to enrich a major sect or aid in ascension, they could not be swayed.
‘Is the only option to upgrade my own armaments?’
Ji Lanruo thought to herself.
Ji Lanruo’s eyes turned deep, and the lake-like clarity in them lost its former luster.
Among the three major paths of Artifacts, Pills, and Talisman Formations, Artifact Refining was the most direct and violent.
If Luo Yao could produce a mid-stage Tribulation Transcendence Weapon Puppet, then her mastery of Talisman Formations was certainly not weak.
Ji Lanruo specialized in talismans, followed by formations.
However, in the path of Artifact Refining, she could at most develop a Nascent Soul Stage Weapon Puppet.
Compared to Luo Yao, her accumulation was insufficient.
‘If quality isn’t enough, then I can only win through quantity,’ Ji Yang had once said.
‘Firepower suppression, huh…’ Ji Lanruo sighed.
—
She went alone to the Xishan Sect’s storehouse located halfway up Taishan.
The dark room instantly became as bright as day, with various treasures neatly arranged on the shelves.
She put on ten spatial rings.
She swept every talisman she was authorized to use into the rings — tens of thousands of them.
Luo Yao had stayed in Qingquan City for years, so she surely had preparations.
Talismans were strong in versatility and variety, but they lacked the explosive power of Weapon Puppets and the destructive force of formations.
She estimated she would consume a vast amount of talismans on this trip.
In addition to talismans, she took various spirit tools produced by the Xishan Sect’s Artisan Hall over the years.
She did not choose weapons from other sources.
Those weapons were certainly good, but her Master had once said the best weapons were those made by oneself; weapons made by others might have backdoors or similar traps.
There were other weapons in the storehouse, but those were only for research.
In over 400 years, the Xishan Sect had some accumulation, but they paled in comparison to sects that specialized in Artifact Refining.
The Xishan Sect focused on talismans.
Although Artifact Refining was supported, the results were mediocre.
Most of the powerful weapons in the sect were imitations.
The best craftsman in the Artisan Hall was only a Rank 6 Artifact Refiner.
Out of options, she took a large number of spirit tools, intending to use them as one-time explosive bombs.
After filling the ten rings, she changed into combat-ready attire and finally took a Flying Shuttle.
“Where are you going, Sect Leader Sister?”
A girl about the age of a high school student slowly walked out from the shadows of the storehouse.
Her hair was styled in a tassel bun, and her limbs were thin, giving her a frail appearance.
Her expression was calm — not quite cold, but enough to hide her inner thoughts.
“Junior Sister Xinran? You’re in the storehouse?” Ji Lanruo was not too surprised.
The sect’s treasure storehouse was guarded by Ji Xinran and Ji Xinyue on a rotating basis.
“I’m organizing the ledgers,” Ji Xinran said, raising an eyebrow.
“Are you taking all that to go find Master?”
“Yes,” Ji Lanruo nodded.
“You’re planning to go alone?”
“It’s too far…” Ji Lanruo hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“If you told the truth and informed the disciples that Ding Nan is the Ancestor of our Xishan Sect, the entire sect would surely help you with all its might,” Ji Xinran interrupted.
Ji Lanruo remained silent, her eyes fixated on Ji Xinran.
Ji Xinran rolled her eyes at Ji Lanruo and then sighed.
“Xinyue and I won’t stop you. Just be careful. Talismans aren’t as durable as Weapon Puppets,” Ji Xinran said.
“Alright.”
Ji Lanruo turned to leave.
“Also, before you go, remember to say goodbye to Qianlin,” Ji Xinran added.
Ji Lanruo’s footsteps paused, but she did not answer.